


Modulating to a Parallel Key

by SensationalSunburst



Series: Hyrule's Hometown Hero [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: AU, Fluff, Gen, Kass is the best bard, References to Previous Titles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26294077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SensationalSunburst/pseuds/SensationalSunburst
Summary: The Link before him was not the Link he knew, but the delighted grin, full of teeth and bracketed by deep dimples, was exactly the same. As was the strength in the hand that grabbed the tip of his wing and all but dragged him forward until he was racing a long behind the Hero that was not the Hero he knew through the rusted remains of the kingdom’s destruction.ORThree times Kass played for a Hero other than the Hero of the Wild and one time he played for Link.
Relationships: Kass & Link (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Hyrule's Hometown Hero [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1904623
Comments: 27
Kudos: 117





	1. Epona's Song

**Author's Note:**

> BOTW has so many lovely Easter Eggs referencing the other games that this just kinda, sprung into my mind.

The Batchery Plain was a difficult muse. The tragedy of Fort Hateno’s last stand nearly demanded silence, but to let the stories of the heroes who’d lived and died there remain untold seemed disrespectful, especially now that Kass had met one of the veterans for himself. Perched as he was on the stalwart walls of the Fort, he could see the corpses of the Guardians stretching on and on, half buried in the scars they’d gouged into the earth. Wild horses ran unafraid through the ancient carnage- the only sign of life besides the beacon of warmth that was the Dueling Peaks stable. 

Except, of course, for the expected splash of bright blue attempting to sneak up on the herd. 

Kass smiled and swung his accordion about to play. After all, it was only a matter of time before Link would notice him.Just as well, as Kass needed help solving the riddle his teacher had left him about this place. 

He was about two bars in when Link sailed through the air, bucked from the back of a steed. He hit the ground hard, rolling several times before coming to a stop on his back. The Hero didn’t appear harmed, just frustrated, judging by the fist he sent into the ground beside him after a moment of heartstopping stillness. Kass kept playing, perhaps a little louder than before and was rewarded with Link’s head snapping over to find him. He stood, dusting grass from his pants and lifted one hand in a wave. Behind him, the herd thundered past and Kass nodded back, smiling. 

A large, mahogany mare reared back from the center of the herd halfway across the field. Her mane was pure white like the snow on Hebra, matching the fur about her hooves. Her whinny echoed through the plain like a whistle and Link immediately spun about, stock still in the same rigid pose that he took when lost in memory. Kass had half a mind to fly down to him, if only to watch over him until he settled back into his body, when Link shivered, the tremor clear from a distance as it travelled from head to toe. 

Kass was touching down in the grass before he’d made the conscious decision to move, driven by the same lurch his heart gave when one of his girls leapt from Revali’s Landing. Link’s head snapped to look at him, mouth open in shock. He pointed at the herd urgently and began to move his hands in what Kass eventually recognized as Hylian sign. 

Except, Link used _Zoran_ sign. 

Hylian sign hadn’t been used for anything other than militaristic signalling in _centuries_. 

“My friend,” Kass said, “My deepest apologies, but I fear I know little sign.” At Link’s confused expression, Kass continued, “I know some, but not very much.” 

Link’s eyes were a different shade of blue, he realized with a start. They were a deeper, truer blue than the cruelan shade he was used to. 

_This was not his Link._ The realization ran down Kass’s spine like a lighting bolt. 

Link pointed towards the horses again, then himself. Kass nodded and Link cupped his hands in front of his face, fingers moving and lips puckered as if whistling. It only took a moment for Kass to understand. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t have an ocarina.” Kass said. Link’s shoulders slumped and he shook his head, fingers again moving. Kass saw ‘signal’’ and then Link pointed across the field, towards the stable, then at Kass’s accordion and finally to the horses. 

“The stable?” 

A nod. Link rolled his hands over each other, universal for ‘come on.’ 

“Ah! You want me to play the song I play at the stables for the horses?” 

The Link before him was not _his_ Link, but the delighted grin, full of teeth and bracketed by deep dimples, was exactly the same. As was the strength in the hand that grabbed the tip of his wing and all but dragged him forward until he was racing a long behind the Hero that was _not_ the Hero he knew through the rusted remains of the kingdom’s destruction. 

If the eyes and the antiquated sign hadn’t convinced Kass, then the utter lack of caution shown to the Guardians was proof positive that this Link was not his Link.

It wasn’t as if the idea had never been posed before, Kass knew. His teacher knew the stories of the heroes of old, knew the tale of the Heroes’ Shade that guided the Hero of Twilight and the reincarnation of the Hero’s Spirit when Hyrule was in need. Legend spoke only of young men, boys really, that had somehow managed to defeat unimaginable evils and hordes of demons single-handedly. 

If the Goddess passed on her powers through the royal family, who was to say that the Hero’s Spirit didn’t carry on in a similar fashion? 

They crested a small hill and dropped into a crouch the tall grass, breathless and inexplicably excited. Link’s eyes flashed, a swirl of ocean blue, there and gone like a lightning bolt. Link nodded at him, pantomiming the push and pull of an accordion then signed ‘stay’ and ‘stationary’. Kass nodded and Link shifted, ready to move. 

The herd startled as soon as the first bars of the song rang out and the most skittish members bolted with fearful whinnies. The rest of the herd took flight when Link stood, arms at his side, loose, with an apple in each hand. Kass hadn’t seen where they’d come from. 

Soon, the entire herd was moving, storming away towards the stable- except for one. 

The mahogany mare was running towards them. Towards Link. 

Kass leapt to his feet, the song forgotten as he darted forward to pull the tiny Hylian from the path of the creature more than twice his size. 

“Link!” 

Link dropped the apples, brought his arms up and wrapped himself around the horse’s head as it butted into his chest hard enough to take him nearly off his feet. But it was neighing and nodding and very, very clearly friendly. 

Link turned his head, resting his face against the flat of the horse’s nose and smiled brightly at Kass. He was delighted to find that the sign for ‘thank you,’ was the same across the ages. 

Link gave another full body shiver and when he opened his eyes, they were brilliant, ocean blue. 

“Kass,” He said, “Meet Epona.” 


	2. Ballad of the Wind Fish

“Truly impressive, my friend!” Kass said, shifting to make room on the rocky outcrop as Link clambered up the rockface to sit beside him. Link grinned, showing off a large gold rupee which Kass knew was just one of the treasures he’d discovered from the chests hidden beneath the waves. As always, Link had only spent a few minutes pondering Kass’s song before darting off to invariably solve whatever puzzle lay hidden within its lyrics.

How the young Hylian had managed to find him, perched on a pillar of rock in the middle of Kitano Bay, was a mystery but Kass had been strangely unsurprised when he’d heard the tell-tale snap of Link’s paraglider snapping closed as he plopped down beside him just minutes ago. 

Link cast the rupee into his slate in a shower of brilliant blue ribbons, replacing it with what appeared to be a bundle of rice balls. He lifted one up in offering to Kass, swinging his legs over the lip of the pillar, still dripping with water and victory. 

“No, thank you my friend, but if you wish, I could play you another song.” Kass said. Link nodded and spun to face Kass, pulling his knees up to his chest. 

“Excellent!” Kass said, rolling his shoulders back, “Known as the Ballad of the Windfish, legend says this song once saved the Hero from an eternal nightmare.” 

Something flashed in Link’s eyes but he smiled encouragingly and bit into his lunch. 

Kass closed his eyes and began to sway. To him the ballad had always been wistful. There was something tragic sweeping up and diving down with the melody like an ocean tide. His teacher had adored it, but was never able to play it as often as he wished to. 

("Too sad, they said." He scoffed, settling his harp across his thighs, "They always wanted upbeat music, something to dance to. Lift the spirits, so to speak.") 

The song echoed its final note across the bay, their perch now shaded as the sun shifted overhead, and Kass opened his eyes to find that Link had turned away from him, his gaze set over the sea. He'd moved to let one leg dangle over the cliff, the other still by his chest with his arm wrapped around it. 

Tears streamed down his face, almost gold in the sunset. 

Kass blinked, startled, when he heard a coo from below him.

At his feet, a single pure white seagull pecked at his foot, just once, before waddling to press itself against Link's side. 

"A ballad is right," Link said, looking down at the bird with a sardonic chuckle. 

Kass felt his heart lurch in his chest, startled to hear the boy's voice. Link was a man of few words, preferring sign to spoken word. When he did speak, his voice was soft and raspy. Kass didn't know if it was from disuse or from the injury that had left the scars that streaked down his throat and trailed down the left side of his chest. 

The Link before him now had spoken in a voice that Kass had never heard before. Strong and smooth and terribly sad. 

Link lifted his hand and the seagull tucked itself underneath it, cooing softly. 

"Play it again, Kass." The stranger said. 

Kass inhaled, always eager to play for new audiences. “Sleepers wake, dreams will fade, although we cling fast, what is real?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading!


	3. Song of Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a jolt, Kass realized that the creature looked like old depictions of Divine Beasts. It looked like something that was trying very, very hard to be a wolf, but had just a few of the details wrong.

Hebra was beautiful in a way that few could truly appreciate, Kass thought, not least of all due to the wonderful acoustics that the snow and ice provided. His concertina’s notes echoed through the landscape in such a way that every song became to a ballad. 

Composition in mind, he breathed in the frigid wind and- 

Howling on the wind. 

Kass tilted his head as the howling came again, echoing mournfully into the twilight as the sun sank over the mountains, turning the snow and sky purple and gold. His wings moved on instinct, out then in, mimicking the fading echo. He didn’t know what made him croon the notes back into the sky, but it felt  _ right _ to do so. Just as right, when the howling came again, casting new notes into the frozen valley, as taking flight to chase the echo deeper into Hebra's hills. 

Kass found himself unsurprised to find the source of the song sitting on the odd stone of an unconquered shrine. What was surprising was to see it tolerating Epona's unique brand of affection as her nose nearly knocked the massive wolf over. 

Wolf, Kass thought, as he perched on a nearby rocky overhang, probably didn't quite cover what the beast was. It certainly  _ looked  _ like a wolf. What with its huge paws and long, gleaming claws. It was wolf enough in the snout and general shape, but Kass had never seen one quite so large, with a mane of all things, and with such unique markings. 

With a jolt, Kass realized it looked like old depictions of Divine Beasts. It looked like something that was trying very, very hard to be a wolf, but had just a few of the details wrong. He didn't miss the shackle or the earring, or the unsettling familiarity of its coloring, or the way it was so clearly sizing him up as well. 

Epona was unafraid of it, so it couldn't be a threat. And if Epona was present it meant that Link was nearby, likely within the shrine itself judging by its warm orange glow. 

Kass settled his fingers back on his instrument and the wolf did a one-two tap with its front paws as if to sit up straighter. 

Out then in, Kass played the haunting wolf song back, somehow pleased as it tilted its head from side to side, clearly listening. The wolf threw back its head and howled again; new notes -yet another bar of the song. 

Kass played the new bar back and the wolf stood, circling the platform of the shrine with its tail swinging happily. Once it settled again it tapped its front paws, the click of massive claws loud enough to echo through their secluded ravine. One-two-three taps against the stone, as if counting down, and the wolf sang. Kass was helpless not to join in. 

Link appeared just moments after they began, clearly exhausted but grinning triumphantly in the now cerulean blue of the shrine’s light. The hard edge of his smirk softened into delight and he flopped down to lean heavily against the wolf. His weight, along with the battered sword and shield strapped to his back, didn’t seem to disturb the beast which sang even louder as Link closed his eyes and melted into its side, sinking into what looked like an inch of two of thick, slate grey fur.

Together, Kass and the wolf repeated the song in a strangely perfect harmony, trailing off naturally as the mountains finally swallowed the sun. The wolf turned its massive head, whining faintly as it snuffled about Link’s chest. He pushed its snout away, fearless of the fangs that nipped at his fingertips and opened his eyes to grin up at Kass. 

“Kass!” 

Kass flew to join them, keeping an eye on the wolf as he landed and offered a smile. Link tracked his gaze and snorted, shaking his head as he pulled his hair out of its ruined ponytail and began to comb it with his fingers, “Don’t worry, he’s a friend.” 

The wolf whined again and glanced between them, before rolling itself atop Link’s legs, pinning him down with its ears flicked back. 

“You find friends wherever you go,” Kass smiled, “This one seems to be worried for you. Are you alright?” 

The wolf’s tongue fell out of its mouth in a grin as its tail thumped against the shrine’s platform. Link huffed down at it, pressing his palms against its snout, “Quit laughing.” 

Kass waited as the pair seemed to argue until Link turned his gaze up, “Just sore. Tired. There’s guardians inside sometimes.” At Kass’s horrified expression, he rushed to clarify, “Little ones. They have… fewer legs?” 

“Did one of these legs manage to injure you?” 

“Just a graze. Really, Kass, I’m alright.” 

Kass and the wolf made nearly identical sounds of disbelief, which, from the look the Rito shot the wolf, was entirely unexpected. His eyes met the steely blue of the beast and he was struck all at once by the same shiver, the same feeling of vertigo, as he experienced months ago on the Batchery Plain. Kass blinked and the momentary shock at the fact that a wolf was actively participating in conversation evaporated with the soul deep confirmation that the wolf was  not  a wolf at all. The beast blinked at him slowly, dipping its head in what he realized was a nod.

“I’m being ganged up on, I can’t believe this. Three hours in a shrine and this is the thanks?” The Hero joked, draping himself dramatically over the wolf’s back. The wolf remained motionless, but he looked up at Kass with expectation in his gaze and Kass found his beak moving faster than his mind. 

“You must be hungry then,” Kass said. Link drew himself upright with a smile, interested obvious in the upward flick of his ears, “Are you camped nearby? My girls tell me you make an amazing salmon meuniere.” 

The wolf was on his feet instantly but he threw his upper body down into a massive play bow, releasing one, thunderous bark. Despite himself, Kass felt every feather on his person stand at attention. 

“You’re really  _ barking  _ up the right tree now.” Link laughed, “That’s his favorite.” It was bad enough of a pun to return Kass’s plumage, and heart rate, to normal. 

“Lead the way then, my friend!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading.   
> How about that BOTW Prequel trailer though!   
> (I'm going to cry so much.)


	4. The Champions Ballad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And one time he played for Link

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me to the end!

Kass had never considered himself to be a religious Rito. His late teacher had spent hours praying to the shrine to Hylia in the village before he passed- praying for the Princess, for the Hero, for Hyrule. Later, he’d shared that he’d even prayed for Kass. 

Hylia, he’d been told, spoke to her worshippers, but Kass had never heard her speak. 

He’d heard her _sing_. 

It’d taken a long time for him to realize what the whisper on the wind was. Longer to determine what the subtle, almost harp-like tone was telling him. 

Thus, after the Calamity had been defeated and he’d met the firestorm that was the Princess (and delighted in the way that Link’s face blushed red as a chu-chu under the Princess’s affections) he was shocked to hear the Goddess’s song drifting up from the south. He was packing up and heading out before the sun set that day. 

It was an adventure not unlike the one on which he’d met Link initially, except now he knew where he would be finding him. The Divine Beasts were calling and one after the other he found himself playing before them, waiting for Link to arrive. It was still unsettling to watch him be thrown over and over into a memory as he approached the silent behemoths, but Kass comforted himself by watching over the Hero as he was dropped into the past. Even stranger, each time that Link’s eyes dimmed and his shoulders dropped, the inspiration for the Champion’s songs flowed directly into his heart, the lyrics writing themselves with every note from his concertina.

* * *

Kass had somehow known, even as he’d landed on the cliff overlooking the Great Plateau that his journey was truly over.

As expected, shortly after he finished warming up, he heard the subtle scuffling that indicated that Link was trying not to sneak up on him. He turned, smiling. Link gestured for him to play on with an exhausted flop of his hand. 

His teacher’s final song, _finally_ finished, echoed around them and Link, as he had with each of his finished tributes to the fallen Champions, froze in place, face falling slack. His cerulean gaze, usually sharp as the sword on his back, grew distant and dull, staring unseeingly through Kass and into the past. 

And Kass, patient as ever, played on and waited for Link to return from the past. 

A few minutes later, just after Kass’s second repeat of the song, Link returned with a gasp, eyes glistening. After ensuring that Link was alright, Kass stopped him before he could warp away. 

“I have something for you.” He said. 

Kass presented his gift, a yellowed photo carefully framed in hardwood, edges trimmed in Hyrule’s lost blue, with a soft smile. 

The expression melted from Link’s face as he took the frame into his hands. His mouth opened and closed, his throat clicking as his eyes swept back and forth across it. The last living Champion used a shaking fingertip to trace the surprised faces of the people in the picture, head hung low enough for his bangs to hide his eyes. 

“My teacher saved this photo,” Kass said when the silence dragged on a measure too long, “I thought it would be best in your hands.” Most of Hyrule’s history remained in an unknown state within the castle. Kass knew the castle had been infested with monsters from the haunted tales of those who’d managed to make it in and out again; so he couldn’t imagine the state of the royal library or archives. 

The Rito had no paintings of Master Revali; only written accounts remained of the young champion. They spoke about the deep blue of his feathers, the poise in which he’d held his head and his voice, pitched high with youth. 

It was something different to see him as he was. 

Kass had spent hours as he finished his teacher’s final composition studying the picture, trying to imagine what they all had truly been like. If they would appreciate his song or recognize the world they’d left behind. They looked like _people_ in the picture, not fabled heroes, and perhaps that was Daruk’s biggest gift the world.

A moment of impulse that turned legends into history. 

“Kass.” Link’s voice trailed off into a shattered whisper. 

“My friend,” Kass said, aghast that he’d overstepped, “I didn’t mean to upset you.” 

“No. No, I-” Link said and to Kass’s horror, the Hylian’s chest suddenly jumped, a choked bark of a sound escaping from his mouth. The hands clutching the frame went white as he crushed it against his chest, bending over it. He gasped, the inhale transitioning to a whine and Kass suddenly realized that he was _sobbing_. Link sank into a crouch and Kass dove after him, thoughtlessly wrapping a wing around his heaving shoulders and pulling the young man into his side. 

Kass was no stranger to grief, nobody in Hyrule was, but he felt his own eyes growing hot as Link hid his face behind the frame, stuttering through an explanation. 

"...forgot them... I… I can't believe I-" He pressed the frame against his forehead then pulled it back to peek at the photo. He only lasted for a moment before crumbling, falling back to sit in the grass, knees up and arms crushing the photo to his chest. 

“Something tells me they wouldn’t hold it against you.” Kass said, and Link let out a painful sounding breath that could have passed as a laugh if it weren’t so wet. 

“Thank you,” Link pressed the heels of his hand to his eyes carefully using his arms to keep the picture pinned to his chest, “Thank you for everything, Kass.” 

“Please believe me when I say it has been an honor.” 

“What- What is it called?” Link asked. 

“The Champions Ballad,” Kass said, “But I confess I was thinking of changing the name.” 

“To what?” 

“Hm.. well, naming songs has never been my forte, so to speak-” Kass felt his feathers fluffing in embarrassment and cleared his throat. 

“Uh huh.” 

“-The Legend of Zelda.” 

“The Legend of Zelda. Hm. I like it.” Link nodded firmly after a moment, even as his shoulder quaked again, just once, and a fresh wave of tears flowed over his cheeks. “Play it again?” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and thank you so much for your patience.  
> I hope you enjoyed and that you're doing well.  
> Please feel free to leave a comment below! What is your favorite song in the Legend of Zelda?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much as always for reading! Let me know if you can tell which Hero this was supposed to be!


End file.
